During World War II, Merchant
Marine tankers carried fuel from far-flung oil fields in the Caribbean
and Persian Gulf to the battle zones and for domestic use. They replenished
Navy oilers stationed in the South Pacific, and directly refueled oil-hungry
battleships and aircraft carriers. They also brought aviation fuel for
fighters and bombers.

On September 24, 1943, the
tanker Esso Little Rock, left Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides, on
a routine run from the South Pacific to the Caribbean to load fuel.
Her Master was Captain Roland Whittom, of Elizabeth, New Jersey,
who had been with Esso since 1919. Chief Engineer Ogden E. Power
was in charge of her engine room.

The Esso Little Rock, built
in 1940 by Sun Shipbuilding and Dry Dock at Chester Pennsylvania for
Standard Oil, was considered a large tanker. At 17,950 deadwight ton
capacity, she could carry nearly 7 million gallons of fuel.

MS Esso Little Rock underway [US Navy photograph]

The routine of the voyage
was broken at 1 PM on October 15, 1943, as a Navy PBY seaplane flew
over the ship at masthead height and dropped a message in a weighted
canvas pouch. The container fell on the bridge within a few feet of
Second Mate Ernest Johnson, the officer on watch. The penciled
message read:

Traveling at her top speed
of 15 knots, the Esso Little Rock covered the 158 miles to the reported
position that night. The area was between Nicaragua and the Galapagos
Islands. Arriving at the location, the ship cast her searchlight on
the low hanging clouds, hoping to see a red flare in response.

The Esso Little Rock sailed
downwind mile after mile, while playing the searchlight back and forth
on the clouds. Just when the crew was starting to give up hope -- about
18 miles from the original location -- they sighted a red flare almost
dead ahead, but still quite a distance away. It was 1:35 AM, October
16. They steered in the direction of the flare and at 3 AM came alongside
a Navy Catalina patrol bomber floating on the seas.

The
Navy Catalina Patrol Bomber
During a routine patrol flight, a rubber hose on the manifold that controlled
the supply of gasoline to the engine suddenly split, and pumped more
than 250 gallons of aviation fuel into one of the hull compartments.
The whole interior was filled with explosive fumes, and fuel was all
over the electrical equipment.

As soon as the rubber hose
split, the pilot brought the seaplane down and the men climbed out onto
the wings. The plane was in sight of Cocos Island, but they could not
use the radio to call for help because of the danger of explosion.

The men flooded the plane's
compartment with sea water to wash out the fuel. They took turns braving
the gas fumes: each bailed for a minute or so, or as long as he could
hold his breath. They flooded the cabin over and over, and bailed water
constantly for 24 hours.

When the cabin was finally
clear of fumes they used the radio transmitter to send a message to
their base at Balboa, Panama Canal Zone, reporting their position. A
Navy PBY which was searching for the missing bomber and heard the distress
call, found them within 20 minutes. It circled further, found the Esso
Little Rock, and dropped the message on board.

The seas were choppy as Chief
Mate Porter maneuvered the lifeboat close to the drifting plane. To
get the survivors off, Porter had to bring the lifeboat under the swaying
wing of the bomber, which constantly threatened to crush the lifeboat
and the men at the oars. His timing had to be perfect.

Porter rescued the entire
crew of eight fliers without injury to them or to his own men. One of
the fliers later said, "I didn't know whether to get off the wing
or not. The boat looked so damn small!"

The airplane was destroyed
by gunfire from the Esso Little Rock at the request of Lieutenant W.
K. Aldridge, captain of the plane.

Even after 43 hours on the
wings, the Navy fliers were in good physical condition, albeit cold
and hungry. Their food and water supplies had been ruined by the fuel,
but heavy rain had given them plenty of drinking water.

The eight rescued men came
aboard the Esso Little Rock at 4 AM. They were given hot showers and
dry clothing, and soon sat down to a hot meal of ham and eggs and coffee,
courtesy of Chief Steward Albert S. Howald and his staff. The
ship's crew and Navy Armed Guard gave up bunks to the fliers for the
duration of the voyage.

Only ten hours elapsed from
the time the ship received the emergency order until they made the rescue.
At Balboa, the navy officer who came aboard to take charge of the rescued
men gave to Captain Whittom the following letter of commendation:

"Command Panama Sea
Frontier sends his sincerest appreciation and thanks in recognition
of the splendid performance of the Esso Little Rock in rescuing the
Navy plane crew on October 16."

All the
men were awarded the Meritorious Service Medal.

SS John
Howard Payne Rescues Army Fliers
In March 1945, the SS John Howard Payne, was requested by radio
to locate and assist possible survivors of an Army plane which had crashed
at a given location in the Pacific Ocean seventy miles distant from
the ship's position. The Master, Orion A. Larson, immediately
proceeded at full speed to render assistance. On arrival in the area,
during darkness, a systematic search was instituted and continued for
several hours until a flare was sighted which proved to be from the
plane's rubber life raft supporting two men. Weather conditions were
unfavorable for rescue operations. The sea was rough and there was a
heavy swell running which caused the ship to roll through an arc of
28 degrees. A lifeboat, manned by the chief mate and six others, was
lowered with great difficulty and proceeded on its precarious mission.
The master maneuvered his ship to afford a lee for the boat. The removal
of the two men from the raft and recovery of the boat and personnel
were accomplished with great difficulty and at very definite risk to
the rescued men and boat's crew.

SS Mormaclark Rescues Army Fliers
The SS Mormaclark, a C-1 cargo ship was sailing in New Guinea waters when
the crew saw a U.S. Navy Catalina flying boat crash about a mile away.
Captain J. E. Ihle of Flushing, NY, ordered the ship to head towards
the crash area. When they reached the site, Able Seaman William Needham
of Honolulu, Hawaii, spotted a flier who was severely injured, without
a lifejacket or other support, and near drowning. Needham, disregarding
the danger from sharks attracted by the blood of the wounded men, dove
into the sea, swam 150 yards to Robert Ayers, and towed him to the ship.
Meanwhile, once the ship stopped, the crew lowered a lifeboat which rescued
two other badly injured men who were clinging to a mattress.

Needham
was awarded the Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal

SS Howell Lykes Rescues 6 Army Fliers
The SS Howell Lykes, commanded by Captain William Henderson,
Lamarque, Texas, rescued 6 Army fliers while sailing from New Guinea to
the United States. The fliers were on two rubber rafts which were being
tossed about in heavy seas. The ship ran alongside the rafts and the men
were helped aboard. They suffered from bruises and black eyes from their
crash landing.

1. It is desired to commend
you, the officers and men of United States Merchant Ship Cape Greig,
and to express to you the appreciation of the 19th Bombardment Group
for the heroic act and meritorious service you rendered in rescuing
the following named officer and men of this Group:

Lieutenant

Paul T. Klenk

Sergeant

Andrew M. Doty

Sergeant

James C. Dudley

Sergeant

Rea Schuessler

2. To rescue these B-29 crew
members who had parachuted from their distressed aircraft, you, with
utter and complete disregard for your safety, turned your ammunition-laden
ship into unknown waters. You further increased the danger to yourselves
by using searchlights to seek and find the destitute airmen the destitute
airmen on the blacked-out sea.

3. This voluntary assumption
of risk on your part resulted directly in the rescue of the four above-named
men and is the personification of the highest ideals and tradition of
the Maritime and Naval Service. The officers and men of the 19th Group
join me in saying "Thank you" and "Well done."